Echoes from Another Life
by archimedesis
Summary: Sometimes Kielnode looks at the boy who was returned to him and thinks, that is not my brother. He closes his eyes, breathes in, and forgets again. (Kielnode-centric).


Warning: Possible spoilers ahead. Anyone who has not gone past chapter 123 beware.

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I.

The child is fragile, small enough to fit within the folds of his arms. Kielnode gingerly tucks the golden head under his chin and holds tight. Blood is seeping through his clothes, staining the small fists gripping onto his shirt. Although Kielnode wishes he could wash it off, he knows by the time they escape the vicinity of tower the blood will have hardened and dulled to a metallic brown.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs against Rood's forehead. "Big brother is sorry. I will take care of you."

"Brother?" the tiny voice echoes.

A pair of cold blue eyes blink up to stare into Kielnode's own. They are as deep and endless as the demon's abyss. Pinpricks of frost nestle into Kielnode's heart. The warmth of relief he felt before is briefly unsettled. Kielnode looks away first.

"Don't worry," Kielnode says.

This is his second chance.

II.

Rood has no recollection of the time before his resurrection. He no longer calls Kielnode brother, much less hold his hands. He is a quiet child.

Kielnode moves them constantly. Every day they stay in different hostels whose only discernible similarities to the others are their musty atmosphere and the hardened, half-baked food. Kielnode has not eaten so poorly in years.

Rood's health is a concern. He is already so thin and pale, and Kielnode will never be able to erase the image of his skeleton lying in a pile with all the rest. He had thought that now he could be a good brother and make up for his role in Rood's first death. Instead Kielnode is still as busy and harried and unable to properly take care of his child.

By his side, Rood is ever somber and still, and Kielnode feels his apathy may never disappear. The worry festers in his mind the further they travel from the tower's control.

While taking the long route around a major industrial city, the two of them come across a candy stand tucked between two food shops. Kielnode is reminded of Rood's bright eyes whenever Kieldnode came to visit and brought him candy. His smile had been wide and toothy, and Kielnode had not been able to do anything by smile in return. He wants to see the smile once more.

He glances down at Rood tucked against his side and says, "You like candy right?"

Rood blinks. "Candy?"

"Sweet stuff. You don't remember, but you liked it," he promises.

"Okay."

Except Rood doesn't like it. After taking the first bite, Rood pushes the chocolate back into Kielnode's hands. His scrunches his brows and frowns in distaste.

"No." Rood shakes his head. "I don't want it."

Disappointment anchors itself onto his chest, pressing down against his ribcage. It's as if Kielnode were trying to assemble the tiny pieces of his little brother into one coherent whole only to discover they don't fit together anymore. This Rood becomes more and more a perfect stranger.

Kielnode forces a smile. "It's alright."

III.

Ms. Ren is a godsend. She is ambitious, level-headed, clever, and kind. Kielnode half-expects Rood to take to her as quickly as he has the previous women he's met. She would deserve the affection more than the others.

Of course, he is only fooling himself.

When Rood meets Ms. Ren, he bows to her as if they were in a formal meeting. He waits for Kielnode to speak and does not interrupt them with curious questions. It's as if he were a little princeling, not a child of merely eight.

Ms. Ren stays, but Kielnode knows his family is still only half-complete.

He closes his eyes, breathes in, and tucks the thought away.

IV.

Rood is only a baby when he activates his transformation, a few months shy of eleven.

[Blow].

That's its name. A dark-haired force of nature, a creature powerful beyond anything except the demon king in the abyss. Nothing like his bright-eyed summer child.

Kielnode is forced to leave the room.

V.

Once, after a couple of months working together, Ms. Ren makes the mistake of calling Kielnode "master" in front of Rood.

Afterwards that is the only name Rood will call him: master.

He finds himself able to speak to Ms. Ren for days afterwards. Instead he locks himself in his office, closes his eyes, and breathes and breathes and breathes.

VI.

Rood makes a name for himself when he is thirteen.

He is not supposed to go on missions alone. Kielnode meant to accompany him. When he reaches the site of the demon attack, there is nothing left to fight. Rood is standing alone over a mountain of dark serpent-like monsters. His eyes are blank as ever, and he does not even flinch when Kielnode calls out his name.

In the safety of the castle, the lady Iel and Lanoste's child prodigy are gazing at Rood with awe and vicious jealousy respectively.

Rood waves at him, and Kielnode signals for him to leave ahead of time.

Once he is done ensuring that all the people are safe, he returns to Opion.

Ms. Ren and Rood are waiting for him while sharing a cup of tea. Rood smiles at him in greeting. His eyes are still blank, and Kielnode thinks back to that day all those years. To those eyes of the abyss.

VII.

Sometimes Kielnode looks at the boy who was returned to him and thinks, _that is not my brother._ He closes his eyes, breathes in, and forgets again.

VIII.

"Lady Dayner Artian seeks to employ Opion?" Kielnode asks.

Ms. Ren presents him the profile of a somber, menacing-looking boy. "Her son is going to Helios, and she worries about him. This would be a good excuse as any to send Rood off to the school you enrolled him in."

Kielnode picks up the paper and stares at it carefully.

This is his second chance.

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A/n: Originally I had this this fic rumbling around in my brain when chapter 127 came out. There were a lot of fans theorizing that baby Rood and the demon king were two separate people, and the demon king was the one who took Rood's form. The last panel of the flashback where Kielnode looks at Rood and thinks "But still I..." *cue look of despair* doesn't help much. I put it off because the issue wasn't focused on too much afterwards within canon. And then chapter 133 came out and Lispen says, "he's lost himself inside a weak, fragile human body. But, he'll soon return to us." *welp* The desire to write this came back strong. Reviews are love!


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